digital transformation on Insight for the Connected Enterprisedigital transformationhttps://www.nojitter.com
Insight for the Connected Enterprisehttps://www.nojitter.com/sites/all/themes/license_bootstrap/images/rss_logo.png42144Copyright 2019 UBM Americas, a UBM plc companySun, 15 Sep 2019 04:41:40 -0500https://www.nojitter.com/tags/digital-transformation
enSun, 15 Sep 2019 04:41:40 -0500http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationWhat’s RPA, Why Should I Care?https://www.nojitter.com/ai-automation/what%E2%80%99s-rpa-why-should-i-care
A core consulting engagement that we perform is the “Strategic Operational Assessment.” This engagement type generally focuses on the customer experience, and specifically how operations in the contact center and in other areas of the organization impact that experience.

A typical engagement includes at least four to five days of on-site client meetings. The first activity we perform on-site is to sit side-by-side with contact center agents. During these sessions, we listen to customer phone calls, watch digital interactions, and observe how an agent resolves customer questions and issues. In these meetings, we might investigate what systems an agent uses, how many times an agent places the caller on hold, and whether the agent needs to transfer the call to complete the request.

A significant factor, particularly in healthcare, financial services, and insurance contact centers, is the amount of manual effort required to satisfy customer needs. Often, an agent must invoke multiple processes and engage multiple systems during the interaction.

You might ask, “So what?” Here’s “what.” The manual nature of these interactions has enormous impacts on productivity, customer satisfaction, and importantly, cost per interaction. Specifically, here is what can happen:

Average contact handle time (talk/interaction time and after contact time) lengthens.

Agent success in completing the interaction to the customer’s satisfaction depends on the effectiveness and consistency of the training received. This varies tremendously among our clients.

The agent’s experience and ability to effectively handle all components of the interaction has a direct correlation on the customer’s satisfaction (or frustration) levels.

Potentially, a company can experience an impact to customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys. Worse yet, in the day and age of social media, a company’s image can take a severe hit through consistent negative posts regarding customer service.

To quote the report, “Robotic process automation (RPA) is a digital enablement technology that predominantly leverages a combination of user interface (UI) and surface-level features to create scripts that automate routine, predictable data transcription work. RPA tools link applications, eliminating keying errors, speeding up processes and cutting costs. As a market, RPA is still relatively small, with a total revenue of slightly less than $850 million in 2018. However, RPA is the fastest-growing software subsegment officially tracked by Gartner, with year-over-year growth of more than 63% in 2018.”

What’s different about RPA? In the same report, Gartner stresses the appeal of the technology.

“RPA has effectively bypassed the traditional IT buyer, appealing directly to business users, with its emphasis on resource reduction, easy efficiency and accessibility of scripting environments.”

Furthermore, Gartner states that because of the focus on streamlining operations, with resultant lower costs, “business executives are lining up to sponsor new RPA initiatives directly within their functions.”

Misconceptions and Challenges

Organizations looking to slash headcount by using the technology should consider some critical facts about what RPA is and isn’t. While organizations should be able to improve operational efficiency and perhaps eliminate some headcount through more effective contact handling, RPA won’t completely supplant customer interaction with live agents. Here’s why:

RPA scripts can get information in and out of back-end systems, but they aren’t equivalent to the humans who interpret the data and react as needed.

RPA scripts are intended to run repetitive and routine “tasks” and simple workflows. Multiple step tasks or workflows that involve multiple processes aren’t the right fit for RPA. Those require more highly sophisticated tools.

RPA tools don’t “fix” outdated or inefficient workflows; they simply replace the human interaction with the existing systems and applications that provide the required information.

Technology Is Just the Start

RPA is in its initial stage of development, and already the market wants more functionality. Machine learning is the next area that RPA solution providers are looking to leverage.

“Given the rapid growth in the market, we have seen a great deal of investment activity in the leading vendors,” Gartner wrote in its report.

Research firm Ovum, too, is keeping its eye on RPA activity.“If the current growth trends are anything to go by, RPA adoption will continue to accelerate, with more and more enterprises adopting RPA platforms for task and process automation. RPA as a technology discipline is evolving to support the automation of increasingly sophisticated processes, and along with business process management suites (BPMS)/case management and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) capabilities, it forms a good combination for end-to-end process automation,” Ovum wrote in a December 2018, report, “Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Platform, 2018 – 19.”

Clearly, with the attention of business leaders and the investment in technology, RPA has enormous potential to significantly impact operations not only in the contact center but in other areas of the organization.

Who Are the Leading Solution Providers?

Gartner and Ovum generally agree on the major players in the RPA arena. They are, in alphabetical order:

Get the right people involved to identify your major operational issues. Don’t forget the importance of people who are on the front lines and directly impacted by those pain points. Their insight could be invaluable.

Prioritize the “pain points” that you are targeting for an RPA initiative, e.g., productivity, customer satisfaction, costs.

Think about what steps you might take to improve the workflow before you automate the task and simplify workflow.

Consider the “spider legs” of change.

How will training have to change?

How do performance metrics have to change?

How can you get the staff to embrace the change?

RPA’s Potential Is Real

The potential to make a huge impact on streamlining operations with RPA is enormous. However, you can’t skip the preparatory work required for the technology implementation. As identified above, that includes understanding objectives, enlisting the right project sponsorship, defining success factors, and realistically assessing the challenge. Don’t minimize these factors when considering RPA design and implementation.

"SCTC Perspectives" is written by members of the Society of Communications Technology Consultants, an international organization of independent information and communications technology professionals serving clients in all business sectors and government worldwide.

]]>AI & AutomationDigital TransformationRobotic process automationSoftware roboticsautomationdigital transformationtechnology trendssite:License Global,nid:16412Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0500Diane HalliwellLicense GlobalNews &amp; Viewsenhttps://www.nojitter.com/ai-automation/what%E2%80%99s-rpa-why-should-i-careTalkdesk Enables Chip-Shot Approach to ACD Migrationshttps://www.nojitter.com/contact-center-customer-experience/talkdesk-enables-chip-shot-approach-acd-migrations
Whenever I discuss the topic of digital transformation with IT or business leaders, I advise them to take a chip shot rather than a moon shot.

What I mean by that is most people have a vision of their digital strategy’s endgame, but knowing how to get from here to there can seem daunting. Take digital healthcare as an example. We can envision a day when everything is digitized, people and assets are continuously monitored, and predictive AI keeps us ahead of problems. Trying to build a plan for that moon shot is difficult, if not impossible. But taking a chip shot by deploying video in doctors’ offices to make remote consultations easier is doable – and that’s a simple initiative that can have big results.

In contact centers, the cloud provides a path to modernization, omnichannel support, and the use of AI, but the majority of cloud adoption has been with small to midsize organizations. This begs the question: If the cloud provides so much value, why haven’t large contact centers migrated?

When I ask contact center managers or IT leaders this question, I get a myriad of answers, but the majority revolve around wanting to sweat the assets a bit longer, uncertainty about using the cloud, or not wanting to lay out the budget to do the transition. While these decision makers view the shift to the cloud as risky, a business leader or the person in charge of customer experience think of the opposite as risky. In not moving the contact center to the cloud, a company misses out on a number of critical features that enhance customer interactions, and this creates a conundrum for businesses.

With an offering introduced today, cloud contact center provider Talkdesk is providing organizations a way to take a chip-shot approach to the cloud, particularly with their ACDs. Sometimes the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach seems prudent as it minimizes business risk. However, if hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is right and you always want to skate to where the puck is going to be, you can’t get there with on-premises ACDs because they can’t deliver critical features such as AI-based intelligence, support for mobile workers, digital channels, and cloud-based agility.

Talkdesk’s new offering, Boost, is a hybrid architecture meant to enable businesses to modernize their contact centers by layering a number of AI-driven contact center applications on top of a legacy ACD. These new apps will “boost” agent productivity, operational efficiency, agility, and customer experience without forcing a rip and replace. Boost comprises:

Agent Boost

Talkdesk agent -- Unified desktop, softphone, screen pop, context

Mobile version of agent desktop

Agent assist -- AI-based agent that pushes answers to agents

Omnichannel -- More than 27 channels, including chat and SMS

IT Boost

Pre-built integrations into CRM and other business tools

AppConnect integration to more than 50 apps in Talkdesk’s innovation ecosystem

Looking under the covers, Boost leverages Talkdesk’s xConnect feature, which uses a SIP trunk to connect the ACD to its cloud service. PSTN calls coming into the ACD are routed to the Talkdesk cloud via a secure IP connection. Each call received from the ACD is connected to the Talkdesk agent.

All the ACD routing intelligence and logic remains the same, so implementing Boost should create no deployment friction. This is an important to note, because routing logic is typically expensive and time consuming to build, so few companies will want to scrap what they have and start over in the cloud. Because xConnect is just a redirect of the call, it can work with any ACD, including from Avaya, Cisco, and Genesys.

This hybrid approach could be a real boon to Talkdesk for its upmarket moves. The carrot for most businesses will be the modernized agent desktop, as that’s where the most pain is likely being felt with respect to customer experience. The low-disruption implementation removes deployment risk, which should help Talkdesk get its foot in the door of companies that might not have previously considered the company. Once it’s established a relationship, it should be able employ a “land and expand’ sales motion to expand its footprint, possibly kicking the incumbent out.

Pricing is in line with Talkdesk’s current model, less the calling, obviously, since that’s handled by the on-premises system. Businesses that adopt Boost can expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 to $120 per user per month based on features selected.

Boost gives large, risk-adverse enterprises the best of both worlds: a modernized contact center that delivers agility and greater efficiencies, which lead to CX improvements, while enabling the business to keep current assets in place until its ready to end of life a system.

]]>Contact Center & Customer ExperienceAI & AutomationCCaaSCustomer ExperienceNews & ViewsProduct Newsdigital transformationDeployment modelsACDTalkdesksite:License Global,nid:16326Tue, 25 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0500Zeus KerravalaLicense GlobalNews &amp; Viewsenhttps://www.nojitter.com/contact-center-customer-experience/talkdesk-enables-chip-shot-approach-acd-migrationsInsights into the Video-First Enterprisehttps://www.nojitter.com/video-collaboration-av/insights-video-first-enterprise
For decades, video conferencing has been offered as either an optional add-on to voice communications or a stand-alone service. Phone systems and phone services were often paired with separate conferencing solutions. Both the unified communications and conferencing industries went through a product-to-service transition. Simultaneously, audio, web, and video conferencing capabilities converged. But that's all old news. A more recent development is a reversal from video being an add-on to voice becoming the add-on.

Many people falsely assume video is a mature industry, but it's experiencing somewhat of a rebirth. The demand for video continues to grow as the cost of quality equipment and services drop, the quality and experience improves, and teams become more distributed. Now, we find ourselves in a video-first era of communications.

Enterprise Connect is always filled with announcements, and this year I expect video-related news to be a major theme going in and coming out of the conference. Especially with regards to small, or huddle, room solutions. Simply stated, there is a lot more supply and demand for small meeting rooms than for large rooms. Several factors are driving video demand, including the democratization of video, digital transformation, and a healthy supply of technology innovation.

In the last six months, we’ve seen new products from established players like Microsoft, Cisco, Logitech, and Polycom, as well as from startups such as Solaborate, with more likely due to be announced at EC19. These aren’t just new cameras, but room solutions that simplify ad-hoc and scheduled visual interactions.

The days of the intimidating and esoteric remote controls are gone. These new solutions embrace mobile users and are so intuitive that formal training isn’t necessary. Huddle room video solutions include video phones, USB-attached solutions, and solutions for dedicated meeting rooms. The USB options are growing the quickest, and include all-in-one and distributed systems for tabletop or front-of-room configurations. Huddle room solutions can also include whiteboards, room status displays, and tabletop components.

Democratization of Video

Video has become democratized, meaning it’s no longer expensive or inaccessible. Costs are either zero (incorporated into enterprise licenses or available as freemium services) or consumed as inexpensive, pay-as-you-go services. Video is accessible on selected hard phones, most desktops, and nearly all laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Video has traded its Sunday suit for a T-shirt, and is blending into our daily workflow. The technology has never been more intuitive, natural, or accessible.

The conference experience is no longer painful, PIN codes should be a distant memory, reservations are as natural as sending a calendar invite, and the low cost has eliminated the need for special approval. The final barrier is just putting equipment in the rooms, which a company can easily accomplish for less than $2,000.

Fruits of Digital Transformation

Digital transformation initiatives have significantly reduced the amount of analog, paper, and mechanical processes in our workflows. While it’s obvious that distributed teams need to meet, less obvious is how digital transformation has increased the importance of content sharing in these meetings. More and more, whatever is being worked on or discussed can be shared digitally. Remote participants are now often on equal footing as a result of digital transformation initiatives.

Healthy Supply of Innovation

Tremendous innovation is improving the meeting experience. This includes simplified integrations with calendaring, more intuitive controls, mobile-pairing, easier content sharing, high-resolution cameras, and improved audio. Flexibility and simplicity have even made video conferencing solutions effective for content sharing even when all the participants are in the same room: one approach regardless where the participants are located.

Perhaps the most important ease-of-use improvement is auto-framing. Before, most users had to choose between the lesser of two distractions. Either be distracted with poor framing and awkward zooms, or by having to manually adjust the far-end camera throughout a meeting. Many of the newer solutions come with a virtual camera operator that frames the video perfectly without any manual effort.

Video is one of the most exciting areas of enterprise communications right now. Expect to “see” a lot of interesting new developments throughout the year, especially at EC19 (check out the Video Collaboration & AV track here).

Here’s what else you can expect in the video-first enterprise communications era:

More browser-based solutions

Video-enabled solutions for contact centers

More enhancements that reduce or eliminate visual and audio background distractions

More improvements in image, audio, and metadata

Speech-enabled features, including command/control and transcription

Video-enabled apps and workflow -- beyond the meeting metaphor

If you haven’t registered for EC yet, don’t miss out. Sign up today, using the code NJPOSTS, to save $200 off your registration.

One way to think about this is to ask the question, “How could any one of the communications methods now in use be improved by shifting to another technical approach?” This is what’s happening both in business and consumer settings.

If we were in an age of minimal technology change, then usually the answer to the question would be, “The current methods are the best that can be done.” However, we’re in an era of enormous change in communications technologies. Three of the most dramatic of these are:

Global adoption of wireless devices, especially smartphones that are also computing platforms for applications, or “apps"

Increasingly powerful and economical software apps and application development platforms, available on these networks and devices

If we apply these changes to the question of improved communications, we get answers such as these:

The response to a voice call inquiry can be improved by an app that queries and instantly presents information from a database.

Rather than requiring a call center agent’s help with a transaction – say making an airline reservation -- a customer could use a software application that's accessed via Web pages or apps on a computer or smartphone.

Instead of making a phone call to request help or action, individuals can send written requests using mobile SMS texting, online chat ,or email, since the text format is self-documenting and asynchronous in time demands.

Users can stop swiveling from business software application screens to a phone, email application, or other communications tool when the calling or messaging function is placed directly in the business application software interface.

This list can go on and on and on. The important point is to understand the methodology and then to apply the methodology with energy and skill. As soon as a list of possible improvements can be generated, it will be possible to prioritize the list to find the best sequence in which to pursue these changes. Then, each such change will grab another layer of gains for your organization, whether in the public or private sector.

Clearly, we can see this is happening. The evidence is everywhere. Revenue growth in our enterprise communications industry is coming from the suppliers that are delivering the technologies and the methods to do this. Top examples are Apple and Google on smartphones; Twilio and Nexmo and other communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) providers; carriers and their network technology partners, especially Cisco, that deliver the nearly ubiquitous connectivity.

However, don’t overlook the communications-based growth on the software application category. Salesforce.com is an excellent example; Salesforce has grown top-line revenue from $5 billion in FY2013 to $10 billion in FY2018. A portion of this growth comes from adding communication features to its SaaS platform.

For example, a number of companies in the utility industry are moving their entire contact center agent platform to Salesforce.com, enhanced by vertical industry-specific customer experience scripting from Vlocity, a Salesforce partner. This changes the entire contact center model for this industry sector; the contact center system becomes a utility service to the Salesforce agent, rather than the agent interface platform. This example exists because the better way to provide an excellent customer experience was to build that customer experience on Salesforce data rather than simply on the optimization of telephony metrics and agent staffing. The staffing levels are reduced, too, due to the efficiency of the scripting, but that’s an outcome not a goal.

If you want to pursue these ideas for your organization, you may wish to review the recent No Jitter series on communications in six vertical industries. These posts show how communications are changing in vertical industries in ways that are represented by a set of nine Usage Profiles.

BCStrategies is an industry resource for enterprises, vendors, system integrators, and anyone interested in the growing business communications arena. A supplier of objective information on business communications, BCStrategies is supported by an alliance of leading communication industry advisors, analysts, and consultants who have worked in the various segments of the dynamic business communications market.

Before healthcare organizations and hospital systems were able to digitize their health records, doctors and nurses spent most of their day updating patient records with pen and paper and storing physical paper files as records. Even today, as EHR continues to be deployed, this is a common practice. However, for those currently leveraging EHR, those advancements have not only resulted in streamlined processes, but in significant improvements in the patient experience as well. This is because, as healthcare’s digital transformation continues, advancements in technology are also seeking to close certain gaps in care.

Care gap analysis, which refers to the process of pinpointing shortcomings in treatment plans to improve patient care, is becoming of increasing interest as value-based care reimbursement models encourage hospitals to focus on cost-effectiveness and patient engagement. Using technology to bridge certain gaps in care today — like medication adherence and follow-up after diagnoses — also ultimately leads to the improvement of patient care and healthier patient populations, which is healthcare’s overarching goal.

Patient Engagement Holds the Key to Improving Care

According to an August 2018 report by Prescient & Strategic Intelligence, the global patient engagement solutions market generated $8.5 billion in revenue in 2017 and is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 16.9% during the 2018-2023 period — with the rising use of mobile health solutions and increasing demand for wearable health technology cited as key factors driving this growth. As technology spreads, patient expectations increase, making patient engagement (and the overall patient experience) of high concern to healthcare systems today.

Finding innovative ways to use technology like unified communications (UC) to close the gaps in care that exist today can help improve patient care. UC, as defined by Gartner, are the products (equipment, software and services) that facilitate the interactive use of multiple enterprise communications methods and integrate communications channels (media), networks and systems. UC solutions deployed in medical call centers, specifically, hold significant power in the ability to transform patient-provider or patient-healthcare system communications to improve care and overall experience in the healthcare system.

UC Technology Increasing Accessibility of Communication

Perhaps the largest cause of many of the gaps that exist in the healthcare system today is a lack of communication between patients and their doctors. One area where this is commonly seen involves patients with chronic conditions, who often experience infrequent communication with their provider while managing and treating their condition. UC technology offers a wide variety of communication modes (chat, SMS, video, etc.) and can be leveraged to encourage more easily accessible communication between a patient and their provider, clinic, or hospital.

Healthcare organizations utilizing UC technology can offer their patients the ability to communicate from any mobile device at any location, vastly expanding accessibility. In a 2018 study on trends in clinical communications and collaboration, performed by Spyglass Consulting Group, 90% of hospitals surveyed had already made or were planning to make significant investments in smartphones and secure unified communications. As security for mobile devices continues to improve, the healthcare industry is certain to see increased use of UC to improve communication and strengthen patient-provider relationships.

By making communication more accessible and available in the modes preferred by patients (options outside of picking up the phone and calling in), patients are more motivated to remain engaged in managing their healthcare – something that is especially important for those with chronic conditions.

Artificial Intelligence Improving Care

As the UC market continues to advance, in tandem with healthcare’s digital transformation, new capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI) are also emerging as a way to improve the patient experience.

A 2017 report by Grand View Research found that the global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.25 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 24.3%. In healthcare and a variety of other industries, chatbots are quickly becoming the standard in customer service communications. For healthcare specifically, chatbot technology is being used for appointment scheduling — to enable clinics and hospitals to extend their hours of service in order to meet patient expectations for 24/7, on-the-go access.

Although chatbot technology is still in its infancy, it can be used to support a wide variety of use cases — from appointment scheduling to monitoring conditions to assisting with medical billing. As AI, coupled with chatbot technology, continues to develop and be deployed in healthcare systems across the U.S., its role in improving patient care and experience will become increasingly important.

As healthcare’s digital transformation continues to unfold, there is vast potential for communications and care to be revolutionized. By determining what gaps exist in the current healthcare system, and then leveraging that data through the deployment of UC technology, healthcare organizations (and their partners) will be able to drive higher levels of patient engagement — ultimately leading to improved care for all.

]]>Unified Communications & CollaborationAI & AutomationContact Center & Customer ExperienceMobilityPrivacy & Compliancehealthcaredigital transformationUC technologychatbotdatasite:License Global,nid:15736Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0600Perry PriceLicense GlobalNews &amp; Viewsenhttps://www.nojitter.com/unified-communications-collaboration/closing-healthcare-gaps-uc-dataTake Our Survey: Communications Careers in the Spotlighthttps://www.nojitter.com/careers/take-our-survey-communications-careers-spotlight
Over the last several years of doing our annual Career & Salary Survey, we’ve learned quite a bit about how the communications industry breaks down in terms of job responsibilities and career opportunities. For example, last year’s survey results revealed that communications and collaboration has become more of a team effort, with responsibilities falling across a variety of IT disciplines ranging from PBX manager to network engineer, security analyst, application developer, contact center manager, and beyond.

The continually diversifying roles is one of the things that makes this industry so interesting to follow. When I joined the No Jitter team just five years ago as an associate editor, there was no talk of digital transformation; yet now, not only do you hear about digital transformation efforts regularly, but there are entire IT teams dedicated to such projects, in some cases led by the newly emerging role of chief digital officer.

Last year’s survey participants identified technologies and skills related to digital transformation as important for career advancement. In addition to digital transformation, the survey results suggested that communications professionals looking to differentiate themselves should consider boning up on technologies like communications integration, Internet of Things, speech interfaces, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Put simply, there’s a lot of change going on in the communications space right now. Last year’s survey respondents called out IP networking, email, and communications APIs as among the most important to for IT professionals to understand in order to find success in their current jobs, but times they are a-changing. As the industry evolves, new technologies emerge, IT/communications roles shift, and the state of careers and salaries, as well as the opportunities for career advancement, transform right along with everything else.

That’s why we’re hoping that, if you work for an enterprise organization, you will take a few minutes to participate in our 2018 Career & Salary Survey and keep us up to date on the changing factors that are impacting your career in enterprise communications and collaboration. Click here for the survey, and complete it by this Friday, November 16, for the chance to win one of three $100 gift cards. We’ll share the results on No Jitter, as per usual, so be sure to check back to this space for insights gleaned!

]]>CareersNo Jitter ResearchTechnology TrendsCareer & SalarySurveydigital transformationIP networkingcommunicationssite:License Global,nid:15680Mon, 12 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0600Michelle BurbickLicense GlobalNews &amp; Viewsenhttps://www.nojitter.com/careers/take-our-survey-communications-careers-spotlightHow Call Centers Are Transforming Veteran Carehttps://www.nojitter.com/unified-communications-collaboration/how-call-centers-are-transforming-veteran-care
As the cost of healthcare rises, certain patient populations are facing obstacles to receiving quality care in a timely manner. Veterans, for example, face a variety of challenges when it comes to health care -- from a lack of technology to outdated systems to issues with patient reimbursement that can result in major delays of care. Frustration can rise, too, as a result of bureaucratic policies that often stand in the way of veterans receiving the care they need at the time they require it most. As a result, veteran care desperately needs reform in order to provide a higher quality of care and improve the overall patient experience.

The Veteran's Choice Program (VCP), and others like it, have certainly helped to spur this type of change since they enable veterans to seek care from a local provider when their VA clinic can't provide it in a timely manner -- or if the closest VA facility is more than 40 miles away. However, millions of patients have yet to enjoy this experience.

Expanded Access to Care Through VideoAs digital transformation continues to reshape the future of healthcare, new technology is drastically changing the ways that patients can receive care. The virtualization of healthcare visits, for example, is growing in both popularity and capability as technology advances -- making healthcare more accessible to veterans living with mobility issues or in rural areas. Medical call centers that are using telehealth services for virtual visits in particular are completely transforming the experience for thousands of veterans who are frustrated with delays in care by expanding access and providing same-day services where they didn't exist before.

Today's healthcare industry call centers differ significantly from call centers of the past, as they now provide patients with a variety of ways to communicate with their clinics or providers. This increased availability of communications through various modes such as chat, video, and text is empowering patients to drive the interactions with their providers based on preferred technology.

Call centers using a unified communications solution with robust video capabilities not only allow for video visits to expand the access that veterans have to get the care they need, but for the delay in care to be resolved with immediate and convenient access from a computer or mobile device.

WebRTC Eliminates Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Care Video visits are especially helpful in transforming mental healthcare for veterans across the nation. As the deployment of various UC and medical call center solutions rise, mental healthcare is slowly becoming more virtualized as well. This is particularly important in veteran care since many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, veterans often face obstacles in receiving that care due to mobility issues or access to transportation to clinics where their care is covered. In a 2018 study, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that 50% of veterans surveyed showed a need for mental health care, but weren't currently receiving any. In addition to lack of transportation, the stigma of mental health issues and an inability to easily access resources can stand in the way of veterans receiving the care they need.

What WebRTC allows is an easy access, secure point of contact on a physician's website for patients to reach out directly via chat, email, or voice -- without having to install an app on their phones or create user logins. All major browsers today support WebRTC functionality, so virtual visits are more easily accessible to patients using a wide variety of platforms and devices -- further expanding access to care for veterans regardless of their at-home technology, and making mental health consultations a simple click away.

With a growing veteran population that so desperately needs faster and more flexible access to quality healthcare, it's critical that the latest digital communications breakthroughs transform veteran care as well.

In a January post, I quoted NewVoiceMedia's then-new CEO, Dennis Fois, as saying: "The problem that NewVoiceMedia is trying to solve is the role of the contact center in the digital transformation process that companies are undertaking to respond to the pressures of the experience economy." With this acquisition by Vonage, the solution for NewVoiceMedia is to become an integral part of a larger suite of enterprise communications software.

As Vonage has often stated, it believes companies can realize synergies when they choose a single provider for their UC, contact center, and communications platform needs. "We have seen strong customer demand for integrated UCaaS and cloud contact center solutions, particularly among mid-market and enterprise customers. To date, we have addressed this demand by integrating third-party contact center solutions. By owning NewVoiceMedia, we can more deeply integrate our products and deliver a superior solution versus competitive offerings," Vonage CEO Alan Masarek said this morning in a call with financial analysts.

"With NewVoiceMedia, we are accelerating our strategy to create OneVonage, our combined, microservice-based, cloud communications platform," Masarek went on to say. "With OneVonage, we will provide solutions, all fully programmable, that range from packaged applications like PBX, contact center, collaboration, and team messaging to programmable communication APIs."

As Masarek alluded, Vonage is not new to the contact center market. Since 2013, it has been reselling NICE inContact's CCaaS solution, and in fact, expanded that relationship in June 2018. It also offers a call center solution (think voice-only) that's based on functionality embedded in its BroadSoft BroadWorks platform.

What, if anything will happen to the NICE inContact partnership? Vonage will continue to partner with NICE inContact to meet the needs of two types of companies, Vonage Chief Revenue Officer Kenny Wyatt told me in a discussion we had about the acquisition. These would be companies that aren't users of Salesforce Service or Sales Cloud or other CRM companies with which NewVoiceMedia has deep integrations (e.g., SAP and ServiceNow), and those whose requirements don't match with those available from NewVoiceMedia today.

The question of whether a prospect is a Salesforce user or not comes into play because, since 2014, NewVoiceMedia has primarily targeted and sold its solutions to companies that are also customers of Salesforce. While that may at first blush look like a limiting strategy, Vonage shared information during the financial analyst briefing call today that NewVoiceMedia revenue grew more than 27% year over year in first-half 2018.

I ended my January post about NewVoiceMedia saying, "We'll be seeing a lot more of NewVoiceMedia in North America in 2018 than we have in the past, and likely reading about them a lot more here on No Jitter." With this acquisition by Vonage, both predictions are made true.